When the day-trippers vanish and the shadows stretch long over the wooden shophouses of Nathon, the real Koh Samui wakes up in the northwestern corner of “Coconut Island”. Our lunchtime feasting tour of 14+ tastings invites guests on a culinary experience around the backstreets of Nathon led by our team of professional foodie guides. Before we get started, your tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of street food vendors means we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal for the tour so no-one is disappointed: ✖️ Vegetarians have 2-3 less tastings due to limited alternatives at some vendors. ✖️ Unsuitable for severe allergies, halal and celiac diets due to risk of traces and cross-contamination. If you are feeling adventurous for a foodie journey, read on!

Pull up a stool for boat noodles, with a rich broth that stirs the palate. Be drawn toward the hiss of bubbling oil at a street-side stand for kluay-kaek banana fritters, before seeking out a local obsession you won't find at the hotel: Samui red-sauce fried rice. We’ll make a strategic stop at a local market to deconstruct the curry pastes, smelling the fresh turmeric and spices that form the backbone of Southern Thailand. From there, we shift gears into the world of steam at a neighbourhood dim sum haunt. Work your chopsticks over pork wonton-wrapped kanom jeeb, and shrimp crystal dumplings. This is paired with the kaleidoscopic dish known as khao kluk kapi - shrimp-paste fried rice, a colour wheel of sweet pork and sour mango that hits every taste bud at once.

Grab a freshly baked chicken curry puff for that buttery, cumin-heavy crunch, before trying a total menu disruptor: deep-fried papaya salad. It’s a crispy, zesty remix of the classic, served alongside a Thai chicken laap to collide the flavourful herbs of Northern Thailand.

The finale of our foodie expedition takes us behind the curtain into a local family kitchen. This is home-cooking at its most honest. We’ll share plates of deep-fried fish brushed with a salty-sweet glaze, creamy yod maprao coconut shoot and shrimp soup, and the "queen of southern greens," stir-fried melindjo leaves. You’ll even eat the literal heart of the tree in a fragrant chicken banana stalk curry.

The final feast takes us behind the curtain into a local family kitchen, for honest home-cooking. We’ll share plates of deep-fried fish brushed with a salty-sweet glaze, creamy yod maprao coconut shoot and shrimp soup, and the "queen of southern greens," stir-fried melindjo leaves. You’ll eat the literal heart of the tree in a fragrant chicken banana stalk curry. After a cultural breather at the colourful Nathon Hainan Shrine, we wrap up the day at a modern joint for the innovative egg yolk ice cream. It’s velvety, and the perfect cool-down after a day of chasing the island’s jungled menus, one bite at a time. Join our food-obsessed guides as we navigate corners of “Coconut Island” you’d never find on your own - escaping the hotel pool menu, and diving headlong into the high-octane heart of the real Samui.